Part of The Expanse, book 3.5
First published 2014
In the gritty streets of Baltimore, a young man navigates a world where criminal organizations offer the only real employment opportunities. The authorities hunt anyone who steps out of line, while gang violence claims lives daily. He works for bosses who might pay him well one day and order his death the next. Every choice carries deadly consequences in a city where survival means picking the right enemies and the wrong friends. The solar system awaits humanity's expansion, but first he must escape the urban warfare that shaped him. This character will later play a crucial role in the Expanse series, but here we see the brutal origins that forged his survival instincts. His name reveals itself only at the story's end, connecting his violent past to his spacefaring future. The streets of Baltimore teach lessons that will serve him well among the stars.
Genres: dystopia, crime, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Baltimore
Period: 21st-century
112 pages · ebook · Orbit
Content warnings: drug-use, violence